The world’s first RPC road bridge at Shepherds Gully Creek, NSW

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is a cementitious material consisting of cement, sand, silica fume, silica flour, superplastiser and water. The material was developed by Bouygues, the parent company of VSL, and is marketed under the brand name of Ductal. It is almost self placing, and has a compressive strength of 180 MPa. The durability properties are orders of magnitude better than current high performance concrete. In structural applications, RPC is used without any passive reinforcement. Very fine high strength steel fibres are able to withstand secondary tensile stresses. Prestressing counterbalances the main tensile stresses due to bending. The bridge over Shepherds Gully Creek is the first bridge in the world to be constructed using Ductal for normal highway traffic. The bridge is approximately 150km north of Sydney and replaces an existing timber bridge. This paper presents the properties of Ductal and the details of the bridge. It also presents the conditions under which the use of RPC is favourable.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0855886986
• Authors:
  • Cavill, B
  • Chirgwin, G
• Conference:
  • Austroads Bridge Conference, 5th, 2004, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 12p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Bridge design; Concrete bridges; Properties of materials
• Geographic Terms: New South Wales
• ATRI Terms: Bridge design; Bridge materials; Concrete bridge; Material properties
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01391027
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• ISBN: 0855886986
• Report/Paper Numbers: AP-G79/04
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 23 2012 5:13AM